By Zack L.
We have oBike, Ofo Bicycles, MoBike, and now, we have SG Bikes. Of course Singapore wants their share of the pie!
First and foremost...
I am a user of oBikes, and its fantastic. You see a bike, you go to it, you ride it (mostly for free!).
In celebration of National Day, oBikes were free for the month of August. All you need is an account which is $49 (or $19 for students). Further more, its free EVERY weekend. Or if you do need its services during weekdays, its only a mere $0.50 per 15 minutes. It's kinda sad to see how some people are treating these bikes. I've rode several bikes with dented wheels. I've seen bikes without wheels, seats, bell, headlights. And I've seen bikes that were trashed beyond repair... not just oBike, but Ofo and MoBikes too.
C'mon lah. Free bikes you wanna destroy. Why do people do these kind of things? And you know what's the worst part?
The company gets a fine for "littering" their bikes across the island. Imagine someone buying McDonald's, and littering after they eat, but McDonald's get fined instead of the consumer! Alas, with the current condition of the bikes and how we treat them, the reviews on both Google Play Store and Apple's App Store is kinda harsh. Will SG Bikes be different?
Well, maybe. SG Bikes differentiates themselves by having proper places to park bikes called Geostations. If you attempt to park your SG Bike outside the geostation, you'll simply get fined in terms of credit deduction, or a ban from SG Bike.
Currently, SG Bikes is operating only in Holland-Bukit Panjang area. By the end of August, there will be 300 bikes and geostations in that area.
If you reside at Holland-Bukit Panjang, sign up before the 15th of September to enjoy 1 month of free rides!
To me, I believe that there are three types of people regarding bike-sharing.
First, those that cannot tahan the sight of these bikes outside their designated parking places. These people want law and order. You want a bike, you will need to go to a designated spot to get it. Second, those that prioritise convenience. Meaning, bikes anywhere and everywhere. You don't have to go to a specific spot to get it. Instead, if you see it, you ride it. Third, those that simply doesn't care. In Singapore, there is a law regarding bike parking. You have to park your bicycle at designated parking spots, if not the company will get fined, and the bikes impounded. With SG Bikes having geostations, illegal parking probably wouldn't be an issue. And the odds of SG Bikes getting vandalised slims down a lot too, as there would probably be cameras around the geostations.
Good news for us, oBike, Ofo Bikes and MoBikes is in the process of implementing geostations too! We will be able to see this as early as the end of this year.
Registration and Rates
As of this moment, there is very little information on the registration of SG Bikes online. Well, you could always download oBike, Ofo Bikes or MoBike on Google Play Store or App Store now to use it!
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